Silver Nemesis

150[1] – Silver Nemesis
Doctor Who serial
The Cybermen from "Silver Nemesis"
Cast
Doctor Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor)
Companion Sophie Aldred (Ace)
Others Anton Diffring — De Flores Metin Yenal — Karl Fiona Walker — Lady Peinforte Gerard Murphy — Richard Leslie French — Mathematician Martyn Read — Security Guard Dolores Gray — Mrs Remington Chris Chering, Symond Lawes — Skinheads David Banks — Cyber Leader Mark Hardy — Cyber Lieutenant Brian Orrell — Cyberman Courtney Pine, Adrian Read, Ernest Mothle, Frank Tontoh — Jazz Quartet
Production
Writer	Kevin Clarke
Director	Chris Clough
Script editor	Andrew Cartmel
Producer	John Nathan-Turner
Executive producer(s)	None
Production code	7K
Series	Season 25
Length	3 episodes, 25 minutes each
Originally broadcast	November 23–December 7, 1988
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → The Happiness Patrol The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Silver Nemesis was the 25th anniversary serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast in the UK in three weekly parts from 23 November 1988, (the 25th anniversary) to 7 December 1988. Featuring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh incarnation of the Doctor, Silver Nemesis reflected a darker turn in Doctor Who storylines, with the intention being to reveal the secrets of the Doctor. It is the 150th story of the series.

Synopsis

The Doctor and Ace visit England in 1988, where three rival factions—the Cybermen, a group of Neo-Nazis and a 17th century sorceress named Lady Peinforte—are attempting to gain control of a statue made of a living metal, validium, that was created by Rassilon as the ultimate defence for Gallifrey.

Production

Serial details by episode

Episode	Broadcast date	Run time	Viewership (in millions)
"Part One"	23 November 1988 (1988-11-23)	24:31	6.1
"Part Two"	30 November 1988 (1988-11-30)	24:12	5.2
"Part Three"	7 December 1988 (1988-12-07)	24:36	5.2
[2][3][4]

• The working titles for this story included The Harbinger and Nemesis.^[5]
• Writer Kevin Clarke discusses the development of the plot on the DVD. He points out that he had seen very little of Doctor Who and that he met the production team without any idea of what his proposed story would be about. He made up a story on the spot in front of producer John Nathan-Turner that the Doctor is literally God, though this was not realised on-screen. Clarke also appears twice in the serial itself, playing a tourist at Windsor. The Cybermen were added later at the request of Nathan-Turner, to tie in with the programme's silver anniversary.

Locations

• Permission was refused for filming at Windsor Castle so scenes set there were instead shot at Arundel Castle.^[5] According to the DVD commentary several scenes were shot in woodland areas around Arundel Castle, notably the climax of Part Two, when the Doctor and Ace discuss the Cyber-threat while sitting near a fallen tree. The damaged and fallen trees, which can often be seen in these shots, were a result of the recent storm of 1987 that had caused widespread damage throughout southern England.
• Scenes at the Gas Works where The Doctor and Ace meet and combat the Cybermen were filmed on the site that later became The O₂ (formerly the Millennium Dome).

Cast notes

• Fiona Walker had appeared in The Keys of Marinus in 1964 as Kala.
• Leslie French, who plays the Mathematician, had turned down the role of "The Doctor" in 1963. Thus his casting was another nod to the series beginnings in this Silver Anniversary story.^[6] Anton Diffring took the role so that he could travel from his home in France to watch the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Silver Nemesis was his last work as an actor before his death in 1989.
• The production team tried to get Prince Edward involved in the show, but his office politely declined. The programme eventually went out with an Elizabeth II look-alike standing in for the prince instead.

Broadcast

Episodes two and three were the second and third respectively of the series ever to be premiered outside of the United Kingdom (the first being The Five Doctors), being shown as part of a compilation broadcast of the story on New Zealand's TVNZ, after part one had shown in the UK but prior to the other two being transmitted there.^[5]

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Kevin Clarke, was published by Target Books in November 1989.

Doctor Who book
Silver Nemesis
Series	Target novelisations
Release number	143
Writer	Kevin Clarke
Publisher	Target Books
Cover artist	Alister Pearson
ISBN	0-426-20340-2
Release date	16 November 1989
Preceded by	'
Followed by	'

VHS and DVD releases

• On 3 May 1993 an extended version of this three-part serial was released on VHS. Apart from featuring footage not shown in the original broadcast, the video included a documentary looking back at the production of the adventure. This documentary is not included on the 2010 DVD release.
• The broadcast version of this serial was released on DVD as part of a Box Set with Revenge of the Cybermen on 9 August 2010.^[7]

References

1. ^ From the Doctor Who Magazine series overview, in issue 407 (pp26-29). The Discontinuity Guide, which counts the four segments of The Trial of a Time Lord as four separate stories and also counts the unbroadcast serial Shada, lists this story as number 154. Region 1 DVD releases follow The Discontinuity Guide numbering system.
2. ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). "Silver Nemesis". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2008-05-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080505215028/http://www.gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=7k. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
3. ^ "Silver Nemesis". Doctor Who Reference Guide. http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_7k.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
4. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (2007-08-07). "Silver Nemesis". A Brief History of Time Travel. http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/7k.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} Silver Nemesis at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
6. ^ Chris Clough on DVD commentary
7. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003QP2TPA

External links

• Silver Nemesis at BBC Online
• Silver Nemesis on TARDIS Index File, an external wiki
• Silver Nemesis at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

Fan reviews

• Silver Nemesis reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide

Target novelisation

• On Target — Silver Nemesis